Luggage carrier



Dec. 27, 1966 B. WOLFSON LUGGAGE CARRIER Filed April 21, 1965 INVENTOR BYRON L. WOLFSON ATTORNEY United States Patent O 'ce 3,294,411 LUGGAGE CARRIER Byron L. Wolf'son, 632% Maryland Drive, Los Angeles, Calif. 9illl48 Filed Apr. 21, 1965, Ser. No. 449,756 Claims. (Cl. 289-35) The present invention relates to adjustable luggage carriers and, more particularly, to an adjustable luggage carrier for hand luggage which carrier is lightweight and economical to manufacture in spite of having a high degree of adjustability to accommodate different sizes of luggage.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an adjustable luggage carrier which may be readily adjusted to accommodate various size pieces of luggage and which, when not in use, may be folded to an unusually small size so that in itself it may be quite easily transported from place to place by the user.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an adjustable hand luggage carrier which is extremely simple in construction and thus economical to manufacture but which does not, in achieving the above, sacrifice any of its adjustability or weight or small size.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an adjustable hand luggage carrier which is extremely simple in construction but which, in spite of its simplicity, does not sacrifice its ability to be adjusted to accommodate a wide range of sizes of luggage.

The above and still further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of several specific embodiments thereof, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a top view of a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a View taken along section 2-2 of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a side view in elevation of the first embodiment of the present invention in folded condition;

FIGURE 4 is a top view of the apparatus of FIG- URE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a side view in elevation of a second embodiment of the present invention; and

FIGURE 6 is an illustration of another embodiment of this invention illustrating a further arrangement for attaching the straps to the device.

Referring now specifically to FIGURE 1 of the accompanying drawing, there is illustrated a top view of the apparatus of the present invention. The apparatus comprises four arms which have been lettered A, B, C and D, the letters being assigned in order of decreasing length. Each of the arms is independent of each of the other arms and they are bolted together by a bolt 1 which is adapted to receive a wing nut 2. As clearly shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, the arms are stacked one below the other in order of decreasing size with the arm A, the longest arm, being the uppermost arm, and the arm D being the lowermost arm. At the end of each arm is carried a caster arrangement, generally designated by the reference numeral 3. The caster structure comprises a base plate 4 having secured thereto and depending downwardly therefrom a shaft 6. A forked member 7 is secured to the end of the shaft 6 in turning engagement therewith; that is, the member 7 can rotate about the shaft 6 with the axis of the shaft as the center. A wheel 8 is carried on an axle 9 which is secured between the arms of the member 7.

As illustrated more clearly in FIGURES 3 and 4, when the apparatus is not in use, the wing nut 2 may be loosened and the arms rotated so that they are all aligned with dlgiglll Patented Dec. 27, 1966 one another and the wing nut 2 is tightened to hold the arms in their appropriate position. Under these circumstances, the length and width of the apparatus is equal to that of the largest arm A only. The depth of the device is equal to the total of the thickness of each of the individual arms plus the caster arrangement 3 associated with the lowermost arm D. The arms are fabricated from a strong light-weight material such as aluminum and it has been found that a thickness of roughly /8" to thicknes is satisfactory for the arms. The length of the longest arm A, of course, depends primarily upon the maximum size of luggage to be carried and may, for instance, be two feet long. Under these circumstances, the carrier when not in use may be easily hand carried or merely strapped by means of its own straps, which will be discussed subsequently, to the side of a piece of hand luggage.

When in use the apparatus may be extended as illusrated in FIGURE 1 of the accompanying drawings. The adjustability of the apparatus comes from the fact that different arms may be paired with one another. Thus, in FIGURE 1, the arms A and C on the one hand and arms B and D on the other are axially aligned so that the left to right dimension is equal to the combined length of the arms A and C and the vertical dimension, as illustrated in FIGURE 1 is the combined length of the arms B and D. Since each of the arms is freely rotatable about the bolt 1, three dilferent pairings of the arms may be achieved, A and CB and D, A and BC and D and A and DB and C. As an example, the arms may be of the following lengths A15 /2", B-13 /4", C8%", and 13-7". Thus, the apparatus provides three different overall sizes to accommodate various sizes of luggage. If the arms A and D are paired, thus leaving arms B and C to be paired, a piece of luggage which is approximately square may be accommodated. By pairing the arms A and B on the one hand and C and D on the other, a piece of luggage which is narrow relative to the length may be readily accommodated. The pairing actually illustrated in FIGURE 1 accommodates, of course, an intermediate size of luggage.

As to the relative lengths of the arms, the end of any but the longest arm must be sufficiently short not to strike the caster structure 3 of the next longer arm. Thus, as illustrated in FIGURE 3, each arm must terminate inwardly from the caster structure 3 of the arm immediately above when the apparatus has been folded. There is no requirement, of course, that the end of an arm terminate immediately adjacent to the caster of the next larger arm, the only constraint indicated being such that the arm is not too long.

It is not essential that all four arms be arranged as illustrated in FIGURE 1. For instance, if a very heavy piece of luggage were to be accommodated and it was wished to provide additional support for the arm A, the arm B could be placed under the arm A so that the caster arrangement 3 associated with the arm B would provide a center support under the arm of maximum length.

In order to be able to secure the luggage carrier to the piece of luggage, the end of each of the arms is provided with a slot 11. A strap 12 is secured to the respective arms in each of the slots 11. These straps are provided with buckle arrangements which are not illustrated since it is obvious that such would be used and form no part of the present invention.

As indicated above, the straps may be employed to secure the carrier to a piece of hand luggage when the luggage is being rolled or being carried rather than rolled on the carrier. It is also apparent that the arms, for instance B and D, may be aligned with the arms A and C and the apparatus secured to the bottom of a piece of luggage when the luggage is being carried. Thus, the luggage may be rolled and carried alternately as, for instance, when one is at one moment walking along a level region, and then climbing or descending stairs. At such times, the full eX- tension of the device may prove cumbersome.

It is apparent from the above that, although the apparatus of the invention is unsually simple, it is readily adaptable to a multitude of uses and situations.

As indicated above, the leg D may be employed under the leg A when carrying a heavy load. If the apparatus is designed for larger pieces of luggage so that the leg A may be as much as 3 to 4 feet long, an additional caster may be applied at the bolt 1. Such a leg could be considered as constituting a short fifth leg. It is necessary that the additional caster be at least slightly offset from the wing nut 2 so that it does not interfere with the operation of the latter. This embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIGURE 5 where an additional small arm 13 under the Wing nut 2 carries a caster structure 3 at its end.

It is apparent that the straps applied to the arrangement of FIGURES 1-5 prevent the legs AD or A-D and 13 from lying perfectly fiat when the carrier is closed.

This problem is overcome by the arrangement of FIG- URE 6 wherein the end of each of the legs is bent down so that the slot for receiving the straps lies below the plane of the upper surface of the leg. More particularly, the leg, for instance, leg C is bent adjacent its castered end to provide a downwardly depending projection 14. A slot not illustrated is formed in the projection 14 and a strap 12 is passed through the slot for attachment to the arm. Under these circumstances the strap does not interfere with closing of the device.

Other arrangements of securing the strap may be employed. For instance the strap may be secured to a plate which is then riveted to the underside of said arm. Alternatively the plate 4 carrying the caster may extend past the end of the arm and have a slot to receive the strap.

While I have described and illustrated several specific embodiments of my invention, it Will be clear that variation of the details of construction which are specifically illustrated and described may be resorted to without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A luggage carrier comprising a plurality of arms each of a different length, a plurality of rolling members equal in number to the number of arms, each of said rolling members being secured adjacent one end of a different one of said arms, means pivotally securing said arms together adjacent the other end thereof, said arms being arranged one above the other in order of increasing length, each arm having a length such that it can freely rotate under the arm immediately thereabove.

2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said means includes means for securing said arms in any desired position relative to one another.

3. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said arms are thin, fiat, elongated members.

4. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said rolling members are casters.

5. The combination according to claim 1 further comprising an additional arm, an additional rolling member secured to one end of said arm, said arm being pivotally secured to said carrier by said means, said arm being of such a length that said rolling member is positioned closely adjacent said means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 12/1877 Slemmons 28035 10/1962 Baron 28035 

1. A LUGGAGE CARRIER COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF ARMS EACH OF DIFFERENT LENGTH, A PLURALITY OF ROLLING MEMBERS EQUAL IN NUMBER TO THE NUMBER OF ARMS, EACH OF SAID ROLLING MEMBERS BEING SECURED ADJACENT ONE END OF A DIFFERENT ONE OF SAID ARMS, MEANS PIVOTALLY SECURING SAID ARMS TOGETHER ADJACENT THE OTHER END THEREOF, SAID ARMS BEING ARRANGED ONE ABOVE THE OTHER IN ORDER OG INCREASING LENGTH, EACH ARM HAVING A LENGTH SUCH THAT IT CAN FREELY ROTATE UNDER THE ARM IMMEDIATELY THEREABOVE. 